Ezra: Faith and Action Preacher

He certainly was a faith-in-action preacher (Ezra 10:1–12).

Our choice to follow God must not be built on the shifting sands of emotions. Nor do we dare construct on the fractured foundation of human reason. To do so may seem sensible at first, but eventually the realities of life in the eye of the storm will bring the structure crashing down. Our decision to choose God needs to both blossom from and grow into a love commitment to obey.
Confessing and Forsaking Sin (Ezra 9:1-3; 10:9-14)

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Easter Commitments

What are you holding back? How could you resist such love?

Easter blessings to us all.

One of my thoughts this morning is this:

Easter Commitments -- His and mine

Over the years I have written much about Easter. Below I have provided links and brief excerpts to some. Well, the first has no excerpt, just an introduction. 🙂 In fact, the first two are not written by me; they just appear on one of my sites. 🙂 Read it all

Guaymas Valley Missionary Team

March 1981 -- prior to moving from Oregon to Sonora

Forty years ago this month we made our trip to Guaymas Valley to get acquainted with the area. We were all already committed to going to live there, though some of us had never been there.

Prior to moving down there, we all lived in Woodburn, Oregon. We all live there again. All except Dad. He lives in Heaven now. 🙂 We who remain are still members of Hopewell Mennonite Church, as we were back then.

So here we are…and, oh, so young! 😀 Read it all

Christian Exceptionalism

What makes us unique and above the cut in the world

Human exceptionalism has to do with our uniqueness in the universe. I think of that in terms of…

  • having been created by God in His own image and likeness for close fellowship with Him.
  • having been endowed by our Creator with an eternal living soul which has moral free will.
  • God having given man dominion over the earth.
  • Jesus having come for, lived as, died for, and risen for us — and now interceding for us.

Israelite exceptionalism comes from facts such as these:

  • They were chosen by God as His own people in a unique covenant relationship.
  • They received the Law — an inspired revelation of God and His will for His chosen people.
  • They are the people group through whom the Redeemer came.

American exceptionalism refers to…Read it all

Anabaptist Exceptionalism

Anabaptist ViewPoint header

The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly tested God’s people. Government leaders have implemented restrictions that affect us financially, relationally, educationally, and perhaps most significantly, spiritually. Most churches have experienced some level of restriction to their gatherings. This has ranged from full shutdowns, to holding outdoor meetings, to meetings with only a percentage of members in attendance. In addition, we have been encouraged (sometimes required) to practice social distancing, masking, and regular sanitizing.

While the COVID restrictions are not the primary focus of this article, they do illustrate what appears to many Anabaptist leaders to reveal an underlying problem, a problem that shows itself elsewhere but has been especially apparent in our response to this pandemic. The problem has sometimes been labeled Read it all

Above all, love God!